10 Ways to Eat More Hydrating Foods
10 Ways to Eat More Hydrating Foods
Water is an essential nutrient that makes up 60% of the body and plays a role in many body functions. In addition to drinking fluids, eating hydrating foods can help maintain water balance. Fruits and vegetables are some of the most hydrating foods, with most containing over 80% or 90% water. Here are 10 ways to eat more hydrating foods:
Opt for snackable vegetables that require little to no prep. These include mini cucumbers, mini bell peppers, grape and cherry tomatoes, raw green beans and radishes.
Serve a crunchy side salad. There’s no one way to define a “salad,” but more often than not, a salad contains many hydrating ingredients. In addition to salads with greens, serve salads with other fruit or vegetables such as melon or cucumbers.
Prepare fruit such as melon balls, watermelon cubes or chopped pineapple for easy snacks.
Chop up vegetable sticks as part of a snack. Serve celery sticks, carrot sticks, cucumber slices and/or bell pepper strips with hummus, salmon salad, bean dip or other spreads.
Blend up a smoothie (or smoothie bowl). Choose juicy fruit as a smoothie base. Add romaine lettuce, spinach or kale for even more hydrating ingredients.
Add hydrating foods to other meals or drinks. Stack your sandwich with lettuce, tomato and sprouts. Add fruit such as apples, pears, berries, melon and oranges to grain bowls or salads. Add fruit to water to infuse it with flavor.
Make a cold soup with a hydrating vegetable such as tomato or cucumber as the base.
Choose whole fruit as a snack. Place a fruit bowl on the kitchen countertop, on a desk or even in the car.
Make veggie noodles from zucchini, beets, sweet potato and yellow squash. If you don’t have a spiralizer, use a vegetable peeler to create “ribbons” with vegetables such as zucchini and carrots. Serve veggie noodles by themselves or mixed with other noodles.
Eat more leafy greens. Spinach and other leafy greens are over 90% water.
